Tom Hanks Senior Banquet Address

Has there ever been a graduating class that has not been a witness to history? No. Has any high school student entered a time not fraught with change and dangers? No. ls the world in a state of perpetual chaos and confusion, forever in desperate need of a new generation to come along and make things right? Yes. Do the words of Domine always carry such impact as they did tonight? Yes.

On our planet, there has always been a war someplace and the threats of war in many places. There has always been injustice, or the lack of justice, or the too slow turning of its wheels. There have always been angry voices shouting and apathetic ears no longer listening because, well, there is so much shouting going on.

But there has always been a greater source of hope in this world than there is reason to despair. There is a regular supply of the best examples of human nature that tilt our world away from the baser instincts of ourselves. There are always fresh voices, clear eyes, sharp minds, and strong hearts that will move the mountains, wrestle the fools, topple the tyrants, and improve the status of the status quo.

That great power to change the world is on display here, now, in this beautiful Ojai Valley it is power not on the cusp of revealing itself but already here. The power is you—you graduating class of 2014—and thank goodness you are here, because the world needs you, not who you are going to be, but who you already are.

The world needs your fearlessness. The earth needs your imagination. Our nation needs your perseverance, our republic needs a dose of your ethics, and the public eye needs your example of living up to responsibilities, of celebrating differences and of trusting your abilities to get things done. And to do it good. The cosmos—at least our little corner of it—needs the cumulative effect of honor, fairness, kindness, and truth—qualities that are good singularly, better in pairs, admirable as a trio, and world-changing when bound as a fantastic four, or on a Thacher School coffee cup.

The world needs what Thacher makes and will be saved by the people you have become here in the beautiful Ojai Valley. There is an adage, a credo that could be offered up today, but you have most certainly already written it yourselves in the immersive language program here at Thacher. lt's a proverb that is also a law of physics, really. You’ve heard it before if, like our son Truman Hanks CdeP 2014, you are a fan of the game of hockey. Perhaps the greatest player in history—a player so game-changing that his number 99 has been retired, never to be worn by any other player of the game, came up with this piece of gospel: "You will miss 100 percent of the shots you do not take."

Numbers don't lie and facts are stubborn things and thank you Wayne for Gretzky’s Law.  Not every graduate in June is fearless but you all mounted horses and steered them through those hills, and galloped full bore around barrels. Not every high school graduate is honest, but you all have been living without locked doors for these years. Many young men and women will live out their lives dodging all accountability and every deadline—you got up before breakfast to muck out stalls; you all gave your Senior Exhibitions at the time and place you were assigned and on the topic you developed.

So, at Thacher you all proved that Gretzky's Law works both ways: You grow from 100 percent of the shots you do take.

The people who change the world have learned the power of their own motivations, of their own energies, of their own focus. The people who save the world know that there is no substitute for perseverance just as there is no excuse for boredom. From what we adults have seen of your lives here at Thacher, you have all certainly been stressed and anxious, you’ve all worked hard, been pressed to your limits, been caught out in the rain, and been late for formal dinner, been lazy in bed on occasion—but have you ever been bored?

Boring people may alter the world some by slowing down it’s revolutions. You are not going to do that, and we are so grateful to you in advance—we wish there were thousands of you of the CdeP 2014, so more of you would be cast in the world’s multi-part drama. But if that were so, perhaps Thacher’s influence Would be diluted, not to full effect. Better that it’s just you moving along, carrying with you the honor and fairness and kindness and truth so evident here in the beautiful Ojai Valley.

We all so happy to be here, just as We are so glad to have come around here these past years. But, to confess, there is a hitch in our step this Weekend...

There are occasions when life is a paradox; when joy and melancholy both fill the heart. When the sweetness of life runs smack into the bittersweet. It’s when the present and the past are separated by just a wink of the eye. Time and distance are moot—how far you all have come and the time gone by doesn’t matter at all, because, well, here you all are.

We are caught a bit short because, well, we wish we could linger here a bit longer. We celebrate history here—going back to 1889 and to four years ago and to last week and even to this morning. We celebrate your finishing of all things Thacher. The trails and the trials, the rules, the freedom, the conversations—the trust that Thacher has placed in you; the Trust you have earned.

You, CdeP 2014, are graduating from High School—a watermark of anyone’s life. You are stepping from one state of existence, one physiological plain, into a new realm of experience and reality. You are all fellow voyagers all welcome aboard ship of fools and dreamers, seeking freedom and destiny, setting out to cross the seas, to cross the universe, to cross the divide between then and now.

We all share a common bond—one that connects you of the CdeP to we who dropped off you and your stuff here years ago. You lived at Thacher and we lived here by your proxy. You became who you are today and our lives are changed too, because the Ojai Valley has grown to be just as beautiful to us as it is to you.

None of us will look back on Thacher in mere gratitude or nostalgia; we won’t be longing only for the simpler times of pack trips and the Gymkhana back to school days. No, we will look at Thacher with love—all of us, as stated so simply by Mahogany Monette—in the grand power to connect us all forever and ever. We will not think of Thacher as a place you once were and where we came to visit you every few months—because love is not restricted, it is not bound by time or place, location or era, no more than Thacher is just a collection of buildings and playing fields. Thacher will be a constant in your lives—in all our lives—like the speed of light, like the 100 percent certainty of both sides of Gretzky's Law. This place in the beautiful Ojai Valley will forever be home for you, as familiar as the stars in its sky at night and as defining as the dreams you all had beneath them.

Thacher is a haven for all of us, because you were here and we all love you so much and every day.

Congratulations.